Stephens County

This morning (2-13-18) the Stephens County Board of Commissioners voted to put on an upcoming ballot a vote to maintain or end the countywide ban of the sale of alcohol on Sunday. It is my prayer that our county will unite and vote overwhelmingly to maintain our current Sunday ban on the sale of alcohol.

This measure to allow the Sunday sale of alcohol is clearly about money. Nothing that kills 10,000 random people a year, again many who were not drinking, can be described as wholesome or moral. This is a money grab plain and simple. The Board of Commissioners want to make money for purveyors of alcohol and for the Stephens County government, but will Sunday sales do that? The Center for Disease Control’s latest study estimates that alcohol consumption drains 249 billion dollars annually out of the American economy: in accidents, deaths, health care, court and criminal costs, and lost wages. That adds up to taking $2.05 out of the economy for every alcoholic drink consumed, and that burden falls mostly upon the tax payer. There is significant doubt to whether this will generate an economic boost at all for the county.

But the most important fact in all of this comes from a direct comparison of Stephens County which now bans the sale of alcohol on Sunday, and our neighboring Habersham County which allows Sunday sales. According to County Health Rankings and Roadmaps, over the last 4 years, there were 35 drunk driving deaths in Habersham County and 19 drunk driving deaths in Stephens County. Taking population into consideration because Habersham County has more people, using the 2016 Georgia Government estimations, there is 1 drunk driving death annually in Habersham County for every 5,057 residents. In Stephens County, there is 1 drunk driving death annually for every 5,421 residents. Across four years of data, Stephens County has a better drunk driving accident death rate than Habersham County. In fact, you are 7.2% more likely to die in a drunk driving accident in Habersham County than in Stephens County. 7.2% safer is not insignificant.

The biggest difference between Habersham County and Stephens County in regards to alcohol is the issue of Sunday sales. Habersham County allows it, and Stephens County does not. This ban works. This ban saves lives. 7.2%, remember and share that number. You are 7.2% more likely to die in a drunk driving accident in Habersham County than here in Stephens County. We must vote to maintain the ban.

Also, this ban gives our community a bold and important statement each week to the dangers of alcohol consumption that the words “drink responsibly” in small lettering in a funny commercial could ever give. It gives parents an important platform and staring point to warn their children of the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption.

Lastly, when laws were passed regulating smoking, in how cigarette companies can advertise and restricting where people can smoke, we have learned these regulations work. The Center for Disease Control when comparing 1988-1991, when cigarettes were less regulated, to 2011-2012, when cigarettes were more regulated, they discovered that there was a 62.6% decrease in exposure to second hand smoke. Regulating cigarette consumption protected society and non-smokers. Regulating alcohol consumption similarly will also protect society. These laws protect the public.

Voting to allow the Sunday Sale of alcohol in Stephens County will endanger our residents and visitors, and it will cost lives. Even if it will boost our economy, which is questionable according to the CDC, is it worth our public safety? Again, you are 7.2% more likely to die in a drunk driving accident in neighboring Habersham County than here in Stephens County. Let’s maintain that 7.2%. The ban protects our community, and our neighboring county proves this.

Join me and share these facts. Let us unite to protect our roads, our communities, and our families. Let’s get out and vote to maintain the ban, and encourage others to maintain this ban.

Thanks for sharing, and thank you for voting to maintain the Sunday ban of alcohol sales.

Preacher Jesse Colbert

The math used to obtain the statistics shared above.

Habersham County had 35 drunk driving deaths from 2014-2017 (a 4 year span). In 2016, the Georgia Government estimated the population of Habersham County at 44,246.

35 total deaths/4 years = 8.75 drunk driving deaths a year. 44,246 residents/8.75 deaths a year = 5,056.68, which rounds to 1 drunk driving death per 5,057 residents annually.

Stephens County had 19 drunk driving deaths from 2014-2017. In 2016, the Georgia Government estimated the population of Stephens County at 25,751.

19 total deaths/4 years = 4.75 drunk driving deaths a year. 25,751 residents/4.75 deaths a year = 5421.26, which rounds to 1 drunk driving death per 5,421 residents annually.